Posted on 06/25/2013 10:52:09 AM PDT by jacknhoo
HEY!
I resemble that remark.
I was going to give you credit for identifying the heart and dark soul of the problem, the legislature, but I can't evade the fact that those ignorant, arrogant jackasses did not vote themselves into office.
-PJ
Nothing like seeding the next generation with a need for computerized KGB minders, they'll carry government eyes and ears around with them for the rest of their lives.
Leftist thinking.
Poor oppressed kids don’t have ipads.
Evil oppressor kids do.
Solution:
Take money from evil oppressors and buy ipads for poor oppressed kids.
When poor oppressed kids use ipads as frisbees, and to surf garbage, buy them all a new ipad.
My next school was heading down the same path but hadn't distributed the devices yet. They'll go to next year's freshman class. Many of the teachers there have the same concerns that I expressed. There is a big drive toward Apple everything, but that doesn't work well with many of the current lessons, test banks, publisher ancillaries, etc. It will mean a lot of new equipment and re-thinking how many things are done that currently work just fine. There is a big issue with textbooks. Many of the textbooks in the building are too old to have an iPad app or to have eText available. Going digital is in conflict with efficient use of existing resources.
I'm starting at a third school next fall. Apparently they've been a little less gung-ho on the iPads, but are also heading in that general direction. I may have a little time to breathe and get oriented before I get hit over the head with it.
I will give credit to Apple. They have done an incredible job of marketing to the educational establishment. They have legions of administrators completely sold on the idea that kids need school-provided devices and that everything teachers are doing on current platforms is of no consequence and that any who resist are luddites. Some teachers support it, but many are skeptical of the benefits and concerned about distraction and the impact on lesson preparation. Schools that are forced to replace large numbers of text books with eText and iPad apps might find themselves spending a lot more than they expected and also subject to a lot of ongoing expense to renew their access codes every school year. As a teacher, I'd like stability, attentive students who can read, a building in good repair, a safe work environment, and reliable equipment for classroom use. I don't need iPads for any of that - just a solid desktop unit with projection capability.
Just reading the headlines gives me a kick:
"Women Who Elbow Other Women For A Hobby Tell Rumford High School Girls Not To Elbow Other Girls"
BFL
I just read your post to my wife. She nodded in complete agreement with everything you stated. The good idea fairies in school administration have run amok fed by us, the taxpayers.
Yes, that's how Apple got rich in the early 1980's. They went back to their original sales techniques of selling to schools. I've bought and resold surplus Apple computers. It amazed me that I could buy dozens for a few bucks apiece, that schools had paid hundreds for not long before. I'd peel off the school inventory tags and resell after some cleaning.
It's school administrators who are guilty, not Apple. The schools have done the same thing with books, tossing them out after a few years for new ones. Rather than teach kids how to learn using basics, the schools are focused on warehousing and indoctrinating kids. Give the kids a pad of paper and a pencil, and instructions on using a library. And stop wasting taxdollars on schools.
This is not one of those occasion.
Maybe high school kids in a good school in advanced classes who are responsible...
Yep. I work in a private district, so it's not just the public schools that have gone nuts.
For more documentation than you or any other rational human being needs to see the extent of the real problem, check out...
The Dumbest Generation, Mark Bauerlein, Jeremy P. Archer/Penguin, member of the Penguin Group, New York. Chapters 2-4.
2. The New Bibliophobes
3. Screen Time.
4. On Line learning and Non-Learning.
Agree. Unfortunately, when money gets tight, the library can be among the early casualties.
That, IMHO, is the best argument against giving the pads to the kids. In itself, an I-pad is one of the world’s great book handling and storage devices. Instead of carrying around several books, a kid can carry only one I-pad. Equally important, the schools do not need to buy thousands of new test books every year, saving a lot on storage and distribution. However, the nearly $700 spent on each I-pad would buy 35 hard copy books at $20.00 per book. I have an I-pad and a Kindle and really like the I-pad as a book storage and reading device; indeed I prefer it for book reading to regular books, especially because it solves the storage problem.
The problem I see i personal responsibility. Kids, given expensive devices like I-pads for free, will treat them like so much junk, and will expect to get new ones for free when they break, steal, or lose the old ones. They can only be expected to treat such valuable property with the respect it deserves if they have to pay for it with their own money.
The wonderful lady who has cut my hair for the last 10 years is raising two sons and was married to a deadbeat but smart bipolar dude. Her sons classmates got free PCs from the district because they get free lunch. However, her sons did not because she works. She couldn’t afford to buy PCs for her sons.
BTW, I've walked the walk in addition to talking the talk. I have an I-pad and a Kindle and have gone through the very book case purchase and installation process I've described.
Was there any indication of the iPad being connected to Common Core curriculum in either of your situations?
Are you aware that one of the purposes of using the iPad for common core curriculum is to track the body language using the video cam?
NSA related?
Sounds like our private school. I think our private school is turning into a gn expensive version of public school.
Oh well, next year my girls are only taking a few classes there, and the rest will be online.
Vote as many of the SOBs out who were a part of this decision, go to the next public forum for candidates to challenge them on how to rectify the situation, talk to my neighbors about the tax hike and the iPads...
How’s that for you? Good enough??????
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.